It is too early to appraise the final place history will accord him in the history of United States Numismatics, but of this we can be certain: it will be high and so far as our large cent series is concerned near the top. ... To Howards scholarly attainments were added a great personal charm, integrity of character, and capacity to form lasting friendships. - Carl Wurtzbach, eulogizing his friend Howard Rounds Newcomb, The Numismatist, February 1945Profound cartwheel rolls over both obverse and reverse, enlivening mint red that dominates the obverse and the highlights of gold, blue, and faded mint color on the frosty medium brown and steel reverse. The strike is excellent, mostly crisp at the centers and firm throughout the long, broad denticles that frame both sides. Libertys hair bow is a bit soft, as is much of that quadrant, which shows slightly blunter details on both obverse and reverse. The upper left obverse, where the strike was least bold, retains some light planchet texture and trivial marks that predate striking, as does Libertys cheek, where the otherwise sound strike failed to fully raise the curl adjacent to it. No significant post-striking contact points are seen on either side, just a single light abrasion at the denticles above the left side of Y of LIBERTY. A trio of tiny specks is seen at the base of T of LIBERTY. Some residue, resembling lacquer, is hard to see above STATES.The die state is early, but not perfect, as vestiges of clashing are seen below Libertys chin and above her three lowest locks. Lapping has removed some portion of the lowest curls, and parallel lines from this process are seen at the absolute center on the obverse. The reverse is likewise clashed, with a bulge developing at OF that will continue to develop through later die states. A vertical strand of spalling is difficult to see in the upper right obverse field below Y, as are the two horizontal parallel lapping lines that were evidently left by an attempt to repair it.The February 1945 Howard R. Newcomb catalog summed this cents appeal pithily: "Will pay rich dividends of satisfaction to the future owner." The contributions of Newcomb himself do not lend themselves to such brevity. That Newcomb formed a great collection is obvious: his silver coins, spanning from the 18th century to the 20th, were so fine and complete that they were chosen to be displayed at the triumphant 1914 Exhibition of the American Numismatic Society. His scholarly endeavors included studying the die varieties of series as disparate as Proof half cents and Morgan dollars. While his name hangs like a decanter label around every large cent struck after 1815, he also wrote superb references on the cents of 1801, 1802, and 1803 in 1925 and 1795, 1796, 1797, and 1800, published after his death by co-author George H. Clapp. He was apparently as great a human as he was a numismatist; Carl Wurtzbachs emotional farewell in The Numismatist was entitled "Among Us a Prince Has Fallen: A Tribute to the Late Lamented Howard R. Newcomb." He died a week after his 67th birthday, on January 7, 1945.Of the four 1797 cents tied as the finest certified by PCGS, three are in this sale. This is the finest known example from these dies, one of just two of the variety to survive in Mint State. Dr. Sheldons envelope noted that this coin had been exhibited at the 1939 ANA Convention and deemed it one of the two finest examples of this date; the cent in the preceding lot may have been the other. This piece has sold at auction just once since the end of World War II.
